Nightbloom is a chill new late-night cocktail bar on St. Claude Avenue (adjacent to Galaxie Tacos). Moody with flickering candlelight and simply adorned with calming colors, Nightbloom is pretty and romantic, a classy little haven on a corner in the Bywater neighborhood. In addition to classics like a daiquiri, Negroni, and Old Fashioned, there are specialty drinks like the Miss Vanjie, which combines mezcal, tequila, cilantro, mint, jalapeño, pineapple, lime, agave, and salt; and the Underneath the Purple Rain with lavender-infused gin, Chareau aloe liqueur, Suze, Cocchi Americano, and a lemon twist. It’s open nightly — and playing good tunes — from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Minted is New Orleans’s sexiest new cocktail lounge, located on St. Claude Avenue next to Botanicals NOLA and across the street from St. Roch Market. The upstairs-based bar is gorgeous, with rich-colored velvet furniture set against deep purple walls and a dark marble bar — it looks like a sultry study in a New York City penthouse. The drinks are equally beautiful; extravagant preparations using ingredients like Turning Tables rum, oleo saccharum, and mango nectar. The food is impressive, too, and if it’s a Friday night, you might even catch a burlesque show. Open Monday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m. and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

The recently reopened Frenchmen Hotel has a new bar to offer a respite from Frenchmen Street chaos, a tropical, tiki-themed spot that extends to the hotel’s rooftop. Walk through a cool clock-lined carriageway to find a funky backyard bar and sample extravagant drinks like a Parakeet: rum, Velvet Falernum, Le Verger Liqueur, lime, tiki spice syrup, and egg white. There’s also a show-stopping volcano bowl, the Mount Pelee, a few frozen options, and a few intricate non-alcoholic cocktails.

It’s not exactly a rooftop bar, because it’s just inside, but the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river sure feel on top of the world. Observatory 11 at the Westin is more than a convention hotel bar, thanks to the swank setting and the live music that gives it a true New Orleans sense of place. It offers one of the very best views in town.

Rosella is making a splash for inventive twists on comfort food like a deliciously vinegar-y, vegan red bean salad served cold, a spicy andouille corn dog, and smoked catfish dip. But the cocktails are worth a visit on their own. Priced between $10 and $12, options include the Purple Drank (named after the famed Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar daiquiri) with vodka, creme de Violette, and Luxardo; and the Mr. Tony, with Flor de Caña, lemon, Curaçao, orgeat, and orange bitters.

Downtown’s newest taco spot is sure to attract a similar crowd to its predecessor, Barcadia, thanks to its lively, splashy atmosphere, a strong happy hour, and its crowd-pleasing food and drinks menu. The bar is focused on colorful, vibrant agave drinks, with an extensive menu of margaritas, mojitos, palomas, and more. Try a Fig & Mischief for something a little different, with its notes of cinnamon, fig, and lemon to go with tequila and whiskey, a pineapple old fashioned, or a tropical twist on a Sazerac, made with tequila, mezcal, cognac, and cinnamon.

The former lauded craft cocktail destination Victory Bar is now a 100 percent woman-owned cocktail lounge, Baroness on Baronne (or the Baroness for short). There’s new, romantic decor, moody lighting, and a menu stacked with fresh, creative house cocktails, well-done classics, and even a specialty shot, the Gas Masque, with Chartreuse and Stroh rum and lit on fire.

This small new Mid-City haunt is from the folks behind High Grace, a year-old bar in the French Quarter. Taking over for Fharmacy, a hugely popular spot for burgers, the Cause and the Cure continues that legacy of top-notch bar food. A satisfying menu of Dominican smashburgers, chopped cheese sandwiches, and Korean-style corndogs complements a succinct list of refreshingly straightforward cocktails, local beers, and a full bar.

Upstairs at the Italian Pie is the return of the Library, a lively Prytania Street cocktail bar that closed early on in the pandemic. It’s been revived by new partners and a new approach to drinks, namely nailing classics with refined techniques and ingredients — think Ramos gin fizzes, mint juleps, French 75s, pisco sours, and more. Happy hour is a steal, and the food is varied, New Orleans-centric, and hearty.

At Hungry Eyes, drinks play a central role, from classic martinis to inventive cocktails to fresh wines. It’s an ’80s-themed spot from the Turkey and the Wolf Team, headed up by acclaimed chef Mason Hereford, and is the group’s first foray into dinner and drinks. They call the menu “drinking food,” built to compliment offerings like an espresso martini on tap, a pandan old-fashioned made with rum and bourbon, and an Ube Baby Baby made with coconut, pineapple, and rum.

Maze is New Orleans’s newest spot for nightlife, a sultry Mid-City cocktail lounge complete with VIP tables, bottle service, DJs, and neon wall signs with sayings like “She’s a Maze with no escape.” It had its grand opening in mid-January in the former home of craft cocktail bar Cask, serving extravagant cocktails like an espresso martini with coffee-infused whipped cream, the smoke bubble-topped Ultraviolet, and a Tequila Bloom spritzed with sparkles. Maze is open Sunday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m.